Save a Child’s Financial Future for $8.48

By Dan Kadlec

February 8, 2018

Ohio's Terhar calls for FinLit

Ohio has a long way to go. It has no requirement that students take or even be offered a course in economics or personal finance. State Sen. Lou Terhar points to the result: Ohio ranks fourth worst in financial literacy of the 50 states; it has the sixth highest proportion of college graduate student loan debt; and it ranks 33 in per capita retirement savings.

To change the equation, the state set aside $318,000 for Smart Ohio, a program that supports financial literacy coursework, teacher stipends, student assessments, and professional development for teachers in grades 1-6. The pilot project resulted in measurable gains in the financial know-how of children.

In the recent difficult budget negotiation, the Ohio General Assembly extended funding for Smart Ohio, which so far has prepared 500 teachers who in turn reached 12,500 students. By 2021, this program will reach 75,000 students at a cost of just $8.48 per student, Terhar writes in the Council for Economic Education’s 2018 Survey of the States.

This is the kind of progress that helped Ohio earn a B for financial literacy efforts in the a widely cited annual report card from the Champlain College Center for Financial Literacy. “The legislature’s support of this statewide program reflects a belief that the future of our state lies in the economic and financial literacy of our students,” Terhar writes. “We are proud to support our future leaders in their development of good decision-making skills.